Penny for an Adventure
by Part-Time-Pyromaniac
Summary: Raised in Rougetown, a girl singing in the Gold Roger bar catches Luffys ear. Like all the others who resisted joining his crew, Kapenni Hekili is now caught up in the biggest adventure of her life.
1. Chapter 1

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Avoiding the Marines in the town of Rougetown took little effort.

At least, for Kapeni Hekili, known as Penny to the select few at the bars she went to because of her own avoidance efforts, it was easy. So it had become a bit of a past time for her, watching novice pirates that had just arrive run around asking for help, robbing them when they left their ship unoccupied if someone else didn't, and all in all just having a good time.

But when Monkey D. Luffy and his crew sailed in, Kapeni Hekili was not at the port awaiting poor, unsuspecting pirates to lead to marine headquarters so that she could rob their ships of what she wanted. Instead, she was at her "honorable" part time job at a bar called The Gold Roger, on stage, singing.

That's right. Singing. Besides being the best back street thief and part time black market bounty hunter when cash was really bad, Penny could work at any bar she wanted to.

But she enjoyed the old barkeeps stories and attitude, and so came to his bar to sing. As long as she got free drinks and a way out if someone she didn't want came knocking(Marines/pirates she had previously run into/robbed), she would sing for free.

And that's when Monkey D. Luffy stomped in, his eyes wide as he stretched at his ear a bit. The girls voice had immediately caught his ear. It had a slight tenor to it, but at the same time, was even. Her tone was bold but beautiful, and made you want to clap your hands and stomp your feet as she sung, it had a fun and bouncy sound.

"_Wanted, wanted! My comrades all over the world, _

_Wanted, wanted! The best feeling in the world!_

_Who the heck are you?_

_You know just who I am!_

_I am gonna find one piece gonna become the pirate king!_

_I sensed it when I saw you, for the first time,_

_You and I will be comrades, _

_I want my first dream to come true _

_Im totally confident that I can'd it alone_

_I sometimes become mad _

_On this sea that's too huge_

_that's why something is here,_

_Its to huge and its to cool_

_Wanted! Wanted! My comrades all over the world! _

_Wanted! Wanted! The best adventure in the world! _

_Let me become famous you know just who I am_

_Im gonna find one piece gonna become the pirate king!_

"Yea!! Go Penny!" Penny looked up and grinned, despite the fact that she wasn't through with her song.

The boy was clapping like crazy, and the old barkeep had a glint in his eye when he looked at the boy, the same one he had when he told his stories of Rogers. The song she had singing happened to be one of the barkeeps favorites, and when people interrupted to cheer like that, heads usually went rolling.

"Thanks. Kapeni Hekili, but Pennys fine. Whats your name?" she asked as hopped off the stage and sat down beside him. He grinned, and she blinked.

"Wait, Monkey D. Luffy, right? I saw your poster. It was by mine yesterday morning! Man, you got eight digits! That's awesome! Im half a million away myself from having eight." she said and grinned at him. He beamed back.

"Penny chan! Join my crew!" The girls eyebrows flew into her hairline and her jaw dropped, nearly falling out of her chair from surprise and shock. The kid wasn't serious, was he?

She took a good look at his face. Oh yes, he was_ dead_ serious_._

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_. _

_I have a link to a picture of her that I drew (note-tried to draw, I suck at drawing) of how she looks while shes in Rouge town, most of the time she has her hair in the ponytail, though. that's why I drew the floaty head thingy….and sorry about all the messy writing….XD_

_Reviews are appreciated! And if you have a story or something you want me to read or review, let me know. _

_Pyro _


	2. Chapter 2

"_Penny chan! Join my crew!" The girls eyebrows flew into her hairline and her jaw dropped, nearly falling out of her chair from surprise and shock. The kid wasn't serious, was he?_

_She took a good look at his face. Oh yes, he was _dead_ serious. _

* * *

"You want me-" Penny paused and pointed to herself.

He nodded.

"To join your-" She paused again and pointed to him.

"-Pirate crew" He beamed.

"Yea! Your voice is sugoi! We need someone who can sing! And jii-san said that you were a thief and really good at knife throwing! And that you could spot a marine in a crowd from a mile away! Besides, you're wanted, right? Do you wanna stay here forever?" He asked manically and Penny shook her head.

"Course not. I have dreams and the like. I want to go to the grand line one day. But, Luffy, I'm a loner. I've never worked with a crew. And besides throwing knifes and singing, I suck at fighting and just about everything else." She said. Luffy simply grinned as he tugged at the rim of his hat.

"Well DUH! That's why we have the crew, to make up for that stuff! I can't do anything but fight either. I have Zoro as my swordsmen, Nami as my navigator, Usopp as our liar and sharpshooter, Sanji as our chef, and now, we have you as our musician and a knife thrower! We're headed to Reverse Mountain right after leaving here, too!" He said, excited, and Penny forced herself not to let him get to her.

"Congratulations! Gotta go! Bye bye!!" she chirped nervously seeing Smoker walk into the bar. The girl all but vanished.

"Sugoi! She's _fast_!"

---- ---

"_A pirate, hm?"_ Penny thought to herself, and then sighed as she leaned back against a building. Said building was in an alley in which she hid to finally lose the marines.

'_It wouldn't be so bad. But the Grand Line's a dangerous place. I'm a good knife thrower, but I can't just throw knifes at Grand Line sea kings and expect to live for long. Is Luffy really that strong? His bounty says he is, him having defeating Arlong and all……what was that?' _Penny mused silently, hearing something strangely loud.

She stepped out of the alleyway, nearly becoming run over by Luffy and what appeared to be his crew.

The girl let out a cry of surprise when she saw a rubber hand fly at her, was grabbed by her orange-brown vest, and snapped to Luffy.

"There you are Penny-chan! Come on, we gotta leave now!"

"Leave? Wait, but I never agreed to leaving with you!" she exclaimed, struggling against him in vain. He was a lot stronger then his appearance let on.

"Come on, Penny-chan, it will be fun! Everyone, this is Penny. She's our new musician! And she's a awesome knife thrower!" The girl was put on her feet and easily ran with the others. "Plus she's fast!"

She scowled.

"Well, you tend to get that way living in a town with marines and being wanted and all…..err…hi. Nice to meet you." Penny said as she felt the eyes of the group turn on her.

The blonde of the group appeared beside her, eyes turning to hearts.

"Luffy no Baka!! That's not how you treat a lady!"

'_Eh?'_

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"Man, that was a close one! We were almost caught back there! I'm Captain Usopp of the Going Merry, and this is my crew!" Usopp said proudly after their escape from the marines. They were leaving Rougetown.

"You're not the captain, I am!" Luffy yelled, and then moaned. "Saaanji, when's the food gonna be ready?"

"Idiot! You should have ate when you were in town! I'm not making lunch" He was

interrupted when a loud growl resounded from Penny's stomach. She blushed sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry. I can wait until supper, I sorta had a run in with the marines and didn't get to eat,"

"Come into the kitchen while I make you a snack, Penny-chan!"

"Eh?" She blinked, confused as he danced off.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the attention. I'm Nami, in case Luffy didn't mention me. That's Zoro, Usopp, and the lovesick cook is Sanji." she explained to the new girl, whom sighed in relief seeing someone who was a bit sane.

"Thanks, Nami-san. Are they always like this?" she asked, watching as Usopp chased after a laughing Luffy, whom had stolen the sniper's slingshot. Both tripped over a dozing Zoro, who immediately got angry and chased them both around, swords at the ready.

"Like I said, you get used to it. But let me explain a few rules. Actually, for you, there's really only one: no going into my tangerine trees. Got it?" The Navigator explained, a menacing aura coming from her as she spoke.

Penny gulped slightly.

"Err, y-yes, of course. I'm not really crazy about tangerines anyways!" she said, truthfully.

…..though if it were in a dessert of some sort then she would be all over it.

"Great! Then come with me, I'll show you around while Sanji is cooking. Despite his habits, he's an incredible cook." She said, then grabbed the girl's wrist and begin to give her a tour.

-----

"Man, Sanji-kun, that was incredible! Even better then the sandwich you made me!"

Penny said with a laugh, in the good, carefree mood with the others.

Luffy jumped up suddenly.

"Penny-chan, sing another song!" he said, and she blinked.

"Yes, Penny-Chwan, sing for us!"

"Yea, Penny-chan, sing!"

"Sing!"

Zoro took a swig of his drink and looked at her demandingly. She sighed, but then looked

thoughtfully, before she grinned.

"Alright.

And she sang for them; the same song she had sang when she first meet with Luffy, only this time she got to finish it.

Singing always gave her a sense of peace, eased her into whatever mood of the song she was singing, and she had the abilities to use her voice to do the same with others. When she would sing a sad song, she would feel sad, and those that heard would feel a twinge of sadness as well.

So as she sung the cheerful, upbeat, hope filled song, it got their spirits up exceptionally high, her own included.

"Sugoi!" Luffy cheered, along with the others, as Penny laughed along with them.

"Thanks. The old barkeep taught me that song. Actually, he taught me all the pirate songs I know, but I picked up a few off the streets."

"Another! Another!"

"Fine! One more….hmm…..

_When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation, my father said "Now son, this choice deserves deliberation_

_Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier_

_My boy why not consider a more challenging career"/_

_Hey ho ho_

_You'll cruise to foreign shores_

_And you'll keep your mind and body sound_

_By working out of doors_

_True friendship and adventure are what we can't live without_

_And when you're a professional pirate_

_That's what the job is about…_

"Ya! Another! Another!"

"Aw, come on, Luffy! Can't I sing tomorrow? I'll sing all you want then, but I'm tired now!" Penny whined slightly, her eyes a bit droopy and the alcohol not helping.

"Penny-chan's ready for bed, so leave her alone! I'll escort you, Penny chan." Sanji said in his usual love struck tone, and she shook her head with a laugh.

"Thanks, Sanji-kun, but I think I remember the way. Good night, everyone!"

"Night, Penny-chan!"

'_These guys….they're crazy…..I love it……_

_What in the hell have I gotten myself into….?'_

_

* * *

_

Again, sorry for the shortness, but it will get longer as I get more into the story.

**Reviews are appreciated!**

Pyro chan


	3. Chapter 3

"_Penny-chan's ready for bed, so leave her alone! I'll escort you, Penny chan." Sanji said in his usual love struck tone, and she shook her head with a laugh._

"_Thanks, Sanji-kun, but I think I remember the way. Good night, everyone!"_

"_Night, Penny-chan!"_

'These guys….they're crazy…..I love it……

What in the hell have I gotten myself into….?_'_

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_I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm seriously going to die! Why, of all the pirates I could have chosen to leave with, did it have to be the Straw Hat Pirates?!_

Penny's thoughts raced as she screamed alongside Usopp and Nami as the ship veered off course slightly and headed straight for the Red Line.

"Gumo Gumo no Fussen!" Luffy's voice was heard over the screams as he inflated like a balloon and was able to bounce the ship back on course. When she did not fall off the ship, the reddish haired girl fell to her knees in relief.

"Thank God…" She muttered, and heard Usopp grumble something similar beside her. She looked around, and her eyes widened seeing that they were above the clouds.

"Sugoi! Everyone, we're above the clouds!" she exclaimed, and forgot her fears for a moment to join in with the more insane of the crew in celebrating and having fun.

"Did you guys here something?" Penny asked suddenly as something reached her ears, something…sad… in anguish, almost.

"Nope!"

The girl shrugged it off and continued with her fun.

Fun that was soon halted once they were over the top of Reverse Mountain.

"Nami-san! There's a mountain on the other side!" Sanji said, and the Navigator looked over in disbelief.

"Impossible! There were no mountains on the map after this one!" She said as she looked down, seeing it with her own eyes.

"It's not a mountain… It's a whale…!" Penny said, her above-average eyesight picking up the details of the whale easily, even from the distance.

"What?! How is that even possible?! Shit! We're going to crash into it!" Zoro yelled as Nami took charge and begin barking out orders for when they reached the bottom.

"Can't we just shoot it?" Luffy asked, and Penny felt like smacking herself. Or him. But she restrained herself.

"Sorry, captain, but if we did that, then we would have a big, angry whale" she said annoyed as he blinked, then frowned.

"So, it's a mystery."

"It's not a mystery! The thing's just too big to be hurt by a cannonball!!" Sanji yelled as he took the helm and followed Namis' orders. The whale was too close to the mountain, though, and their ship was damaged.

"Whew. That could have been a lot worse, huh guys?" Penny said, and the others, panting and sprawled out on the deck, nodded.

"Yea, we could have…"

"…"

"……"

"……….."

"Luffy-san just punched the whale in the eye, didn't he?" Penny asked, and the others nodded, though there was no need to. She took a deep nervous breath as she watched the whales' eye look down at them, then screamed, along with a few of the others, as they were swallowed.

"Luffy you idiot!!!!"

"Nami-san, Penny-chan, are you two ok?" The two said they were fine. Penny thought to herself, though, _'I can think of times when I've been better. Like when I wasn't in the stomach of a whale.' _

"What do you think?" Nami asked everyone, and Zoro was the one to answer.

"'_What do I think'_ you say. It clearly doesn't matter what I think."

"We clearly just got swallowed by a whale." Sanji stated bluntly, a bit of a twitch above his brow.

"Mah, mah, calm down, you guys." Penny stated cheerfully as she looked around.

"Is this a dream?" Usopp asked, and Penny deadpanned.

"Yeah. Probably a dream." The auburn haired girl scowled at Zoro.

"Zoro-san, that's not helping the situation any at all."

"Ah. So the house on that island is …..?"

"And illusion."

"You guys! This is reality! We were swallowed by that whale!"As the irate Penny yelled at them, a giant squid appeared from within the water…or…stomach acid.

"Ah…and this?"

"A GIANT SQUID!!" Usopp and Nami screamed together as they were snapped back into reality by fear. Sanji and Zoro got ready to attack, but before they could, harpoons were launched from the island and into the squid, killing it.

"Looks like someone's home" Zoro said, a smirk on his face.

"Better hope it's someone friendly" Sanji said, a similar smirk donning his face.

"No more, I wanna go home…." Nami looked up, tears in her eyes.

"If Luffy were here, he'd know what to do…." Usopp said, tears in his eyes too.

"Oh yea, where is Captain, anyways?" Penny asked as she looked around.

"Shoot it! Blast the island with the cannon!" Usopp said suddenly, and Penny looked at him as if he was crazy.

"What good is that going to do? Besides, if that island wasn't there, we would be squid food!"

"Wait a minute, someone's coming out." Sanji said, and sure enough, there was movement on the island. "Ah! It's a flower!!!"

"Flower?"

"My mistake, it's a person."

Penny felt a sweat-drop appear on her head at the mistake, before she saw the old man. "Ah! It, I mean he, does look like a flower!" she said in awe.

"Anyways, what's up with that old man? He just killed that giant squid…." Usopp demanded.

"He was fishing……or he was saving us." Sanji said as he locked eyes with the old man, and everyone stared. And stared. The old man stared back, an intense staring contest going on…..

Before he sat down in his lawn chair and pulled out the daily newspaper.

"SAY SOMETHING, ASSHOLE!!" Sanji yelled, annoyed.

"We'll fight you if that's what you want, bastard! We've got cannons right here!!" Usopp yelled from the safety of the entrance of the cabin. Once again the old man locked eyes with the crew.

"Don't. Or someone will die." He said, his voice sending shivers down Penny, Nami, and Usopps' spin.

"Oh? And who would that be?" Sanji asked just as coldly, and the old man looked at him.

"Me."

"YOU?! Why you freakin'...!"

"Hey, don't get pissed off." Zoro said, laying a hand on the blondes' shoulder, amusement clear on his face.

"Playing with me like that…" Sanji muttered in anger as Zoro pushed the cook back and took over.

"Hey, old man, tell me, where are we, and who are you?" He asked, and the old man's eyes turned again.

"If you want something from someone, its proper manners to introduce yourself first." The old flower-looking man said, and Zoro blinked.

"A-Ah, that's right. My mistake. I am Zoro."

"I am Crocus. I am the keeper of the Twin Capes Lighthouses. I'm 71 years old. Gemini. Blood type AB."

"CAN I KILL HIM NOW?!" Zoro exploded, and Penny snickered.

"Hey, cool off!"

"You want to know where you are? You came to my one man resort and then yell such rude things at me. Do you think you're inside a rat's stomach?" He demanded, and Usopps' eyes widened.

"So we really were swallowed by the whale..! But this doesn't look like the inside of a whale." Usopp said as Nami begin to freak out.

"Wait, what's going to happen to us?! I don't want to be digested!!"

That thought never occurred to Penny….

"Wait, we're actually in acid?! WHAAA! I don't wanna be digested, either!!" She wailed, suddenly wishing that Luffy had left her at Rougetown.

"As for the exit, it's over there." The old man said, and pointed to some iron doors.

"We can leave?!" Everyone yelled at the same time.

"Wait a second, what's an exit doing inside a whales stomach? And why is that door in the sky?" She asked, referring to where the door was placed on the painted inside.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Usopp yelled, and the old man smiled.

"I like having fun."

"It's ok, just leave him alone." Zoro said, annoyed. He just wanted to leave.

"Now what?" Sanji asked, since Zoro had taken charge, being first mate and all.

"Nami, there's the exit. Let's just get outta here." He said, and she nodded.

"Alright."

Before they could move, though, the ocean of stomach acid they were floating on begin to rock back and forth violently.

"Now what?!" Penny wailed, almost not wanting an answer.

"He's started again."

"Hey, look! That's not an island, it's a ship!" Nami said, catching the others attention.

"It looks like it's made of iron…" Penny said.

"Oi! Started what! Explain!" Usopp yelled.

"This whale…..Laboon has started ramming himself against the Red Line."

"WHAT?!"

"Now that you mention it….this whale had some huge scars on his head…." Penny said a bit curiously. Why would he ram himself against the Red Line like that?

"And it was bellowing to the sky." Nami said and Penny nodded. Usopp looked at them confused.

"What are you saying?" He asked, and Nami explained.

"It's in pain!"

"I get it! So the old man's plan is…."

"Probably. To kill the whale from the inside out."

"What a horrible way to kill it…" Penny muttered as she twirled a knife absentmindedly, not liking the idea at all.

"Now that we've solved this mystery, let's get out of here." Zoro said. "Our ships going to dissolve if you just stand there complaining."

"Well, the whaling business doesn't bother me, and I don't feel like saving this one. Let's get out of here." Sanji said indifferently.

The waves suddenly started up again.

"Shit! The waves are to strong! We won't be able to get to the exit like this!!" Usopp yelled as he braced himself onto the ship.

"Were gonna have to try rowing! Take the oars!" Zoro ordered and they begin to move.

"We have to get out of here now, and find out what happened to Luffy!" Penny yelled as she went to help with the rowing, but Sanji would have none of it.

"He's outside the whale, I saw him get thrown up to the side of the whales mouth!" The rest of the crew relaxed a bit.

"The old man jumped in!" Nami suddenly yelled.

"Eh?" Zoro and Penny both said at the same time as they looked to where he had disappeared to.

"Why'd he do that? He'll be digested." Zoro said in his really couldn't care less voice.

"Oi, the old man's coming up." Usopp said after spotting him coming up the side on a ladder.

"Just ignore him! We have to figure out a way to open the door." Zoro said, then paused, along with the others when he heard a familiar scream. Luffy came bursting through the door above the old man's head, along with two other strange looking figures.

"Luffy!?"

"Oh, you guys are ok! By the way….save me!" The captain of the Straw-Hat Pirates ordered before he fell into the digestive fluids of Laboons' stomach


	4. Chapter 4

"_Just ignore him! We have to figure out a way to open the door." Zoro said, and then paused along with the others when he heard a familiar scream. Luffy came bursting through the door above the old man's head, along with two other strange looking figures._

"_Luffy!?"_

"_Oh, you guys are ok! By the way…save me!" The captain of the Straw-Hat Pirates ordered before he fell into the digestive fluids of Laboons' stomach._

* * *

"Looks like Captain caught up with us……but he brought a couple of weirdos with him" Penny said as she watched the three fall into the stomach acid with a slightly curious expression on her face.

_Just who were those two, anyways?_ She wondered.

"Hey! The old man's gone!" Nami exclaimed, and Zoro scowled.

"Who cares? We have to help Luff." With that he jumped over the side, along with Sanji, who had spotted the beautiful blue-haired girl that had fallen into the water with Luffy…and that other guy.

As soon as everyone was on deck and the water/stomach acid had been pumped out of Luffy, the ocean of acid suddenly calmed.

"Ah, it looks like the whale stopped. For now at least." Penny said, and Nami nodded as she stood beside the girl. The navigator looked at the three that had just been fished out of the whales' stomach fluids.

"Looks that way. Alright then, we saved your asses. Now who are you?" Zoro demanded of the two strangers, while Sanji was still in a daze beside the blue haired girl, hearts practically popping out of his eyes.

"Mr. 9, these are pirates…" The girl said quietly, though nearly everyone heard her.

"I can see that, Miss Wednesday. But I think we can convince them…Probably..." the man, Mr. 9, replied.

"Are you two scoundrels still here?!" the familiar voice of Crocus said, causing everyone turn around in surprise. "Don't make me repeat myself! As long as I'm alive, you won't lay one finger on Laboon!"

"Oh, he's back." Usopp pointed out, and Luffy looked at his crew.

"Who's the old guy?"

He was interrupted by feminine laughter from the woman, Miss Wednesday.

"You may say that, but we cannot retreat." She said as she lifted the large gun that she had been carrying with her. The man stood as well.

"Killing this whale is our mission. We won't let you interfere with our whaling anymore! We'll rip a hole in its stomach! LET 'ER RIP, BABY!"

"ROGER!"

The two aimed at the sky, or the whale's stomach, and fired their bazookas. The crew watched in surprise as the old man ran and jumped right in front of the shots.

"That old man….stopped the shots himself!!" Usopp said in complete awe and shock.

"He actually protected the whale?!" Sanji asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Miss Wednesday laughed.

"Cease your pathetic resistance!"

"If you want to protect it that badly, just try that again! This whale is going to feed our town!" the two begin laughing together.

The whole time, Luffy had watched them go back and forth, and decided that enough was enough.

He leapt up, and punched them both in the side of the head, sending their heads crashing together.

"Yea! Go Luffy-san!!" Penny shouted, suddenly finding herself cheering. It had taken all of her willpower not to throw the knife she had been twirling around at them. Something about Miss Wednesday seemed completely fake, like she was putting on for someone or something, and girls like that made her angry…Or maybe the blue haired girl was just naturally that annoying?

"Eh?" Usopp glanced at the smug looking girl, now unconscious, then looked confused at Luffy.

"Luffy?"

The straw-hat boy huffed. "Don't know why. Just had to hit them."

* * *

"You sure helped me a lot. But why?" Crocus asked, and Luffy looked at him strangely.

"I didn't help you. Just didn't want to see that."

"Hey…What's the deal with those guys?" Nami asked Crocus. Penny tried to listen, but was distracted by Luffy climbing the tree.

"Oi, Luffy, what are you doing?" Usopp demanded, and the rubber boy just grinned and continued climbing as the sniper grabbed his captains' shirt.

"Oi, Luffy, cut it out!" Penny snickered.

"Luffy-san, get down!" She said, trying to sound serious and help out Usopp. He just grinned down at her.

"Come up here, Penny-chan! It's got a great view!"

"Luffy-san, we're in a whales stomach." Penny replied bluntly. "Theres not really much of a view." Luffy laughed as Usopp glared at her.

"Help me get him down, you guys!"

"Laboon could feed their town for two or three years." Penny turned around slightly and tuned back into the conversation between those of the group that a little more brains.

"Laboon?" Nami asked, and the old man nodded.

"That's this whales' name. He's an island whale, an inhabitant of west blue, the largest species of whale in the world. How could I let him become food? The reason he continues to bash his head against the Red Line and why he faces Reverse Mountain and bellows…."

"A reason?" Penny asked, and by this time Crocus had Luffys' attentions too.

"Yeah. This whale, you see…..this whale has a heart like a person. And he's been earnestly waiting for a certain group of pirates for 50 years."

At this, everyone looked at the old man curiously. "You will hear it now. Laboons' story!"

"Huuh?" At this, Penny sweat-dropped a bit. Did he have to be so dramatic about things?

"I was taking care of the lighthouse as usual that day when a group of jolly pirates came down from the mountain and into the Grand Line. Swimming alongside their ship was a small whale. That whale was Laboon. Island whales like him only inhabit West Blue. It appeared that Laboon had been traveling with the pirates for quite some time. But they were now headed into the dangerous waters of the grand line. They thought they had left him behind in West Blue, but Laboon had followed them."

"Island whales normally swim together in pods with their nakama, but to Laboon, these pirates were his nakama. They remained anchored at this cape for a few months to repair their ship. I became quiet friendly with them myself after a while…

"_Could you look after them for two or three years until we come back? We're going to sail around the world then come back for him" _"

Penny watched the expressions on the others faces. Obviously, they could see where the story was going as well.

"That was fifty years ago."

"Fifty years?" Nami exclaimed in surprise.

"You mean Laboons' been waiting for those guys here for fifty years?" Usopp echoed, still hanging on tightly to Luffys' shirt. Said boy was still clinging to the tree.

"So that's why he's bellowing? And why he's ramming the Red Line? To reach the other side of the wall?" Penny asked, and the old man nodded.

"Yes."

The pirates looked at each other. What an incredible whale.

* * *

"It's surprising he's still alive with such a big tunnel in him." Zoro said as the group sailed through the whales insides.

"Is this more of your _'having fun'?_" Sanji asked the old man, who was reading a paper.

"This is my 'doctor' fun."

"Doctor?" Usopp asked in surprise.

"I'm his doctor after all. I ran a clinic here on this cape a long time ago. I was even a ships' doctor, years ago." He answered as he turned a page of his paper.

Luffy, hearing this, grinned.

"Really? Well then, be MY ships doctor!"

"Don't be stupid! Unlike you young'ins, I don't have the energy to go around doing foolery things anymore." He stated as he climbed from his island ship that had been floating alongside the Going Merry onto a ladder.

"A doctor…." Penny repeated, still a bit surprised.

"So that's why you're living inside the whale." Sanji said, still a bit surprised as well.

"And this is all the result of your medical treatment." Nami said, admiration in her voice.

"That's right. When they get this big, there's no way to treat 'em from the outside." the old man stated as though it were obvious. He made his way over to a turning lever that was the switch to opening the door.

"Here we go." He began turning it, and the group watched as the exit opened.

"WE'RE OUT!! IT'S THE REAL SKY!!" Luffy yelled happily from Merry's head, and Penny laughed along with him and Usopp as the sun's rays hit them.

Penny glanced back and noticed Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 waking up, but ignored them and continued celebrating with the others.

"But fifty years! Those lousy pirates sure are making him wait a long time." Usopp said, and Penny looked at him and frowned in disbelief. Did he really believe they were still alive?

"Idiot. This IS the Grand Line, y'know?" Zoro said, as if it were obvious.

"They're dead." Sanji backed him up, bluntly, and took a drag off his cigarette.

"No use waiting on them anymore."

"That's for sure. It's already been fifty years. I guess that shows just how terrible and chaotic this unexplored ocean is going to get." Nami said, and Penny nodded in agreement with her.

"How can you jerks say such heartless things?!" Usopp suddenly said, and crew looked at him.

"You don't know that! They might still come back! It's such a good story! A whale that continues to believe in his nakamas' promise…Ain't that right, old man?!"

"Yeah. But the truth is crueler then you can imagine. It was all part of their plan. Those guys ran away from the Grand Line."

"No way…..so, they actually left the whale behind?!" Usopp exclaimed, disbelief in his eyes. Penny felt her heart go out to the whale, but kept silent. She had seen cruel things in Rougetown, after all, and knew what abandonment was.

"They tried to run away from the Grand Line….that means they would have had to cross the Calm Belt, right?" Nami said suddenly in realization.

"Even if by some chance they are alive, they would never return to this place. The seasons, the weather, the ocean currents, even the winds. They all go around in unpredictable patterns. Common logic is worthless in this ocean. The terror of the Grand Line quickly overwhelms the weak at heart."

"So those weak hearted shit heads without a thought for your life or their promise, packed up and high tailed it out of the ocean." Sanji said, and took a drag off of his cigarette.

"They just abandoned the whale?!" Usopp said in disbelief. "And he's been waiting fifty years for them to come back for him? That's so cruel!"

"But if you knew this, why haven't you told him?" Nami demanded. "He understands human speech, right?"

"I did tell him. All of it. But he refused to listen. And that night Laboon faced Reverse Mountain and bellowed for the first time, and begin battering himself against the Red Line. He still believes they will return from the other side of that wall…he just won't listen to the truth."

"What a whale…even when there's no point in waiting…" Penny said, admiration and sadness in her tone as she shook her head.

"If there was no reason to wait, he would have listened to me. More than anything else, he is afraid of losing his reason to wait. His home is in West Blue. Yet there is no way home for him. All he wishes for…is to continue being nakama with the men he followed here."

Penny sighed. "You were betrayed too, you know. I mean…Luffy…-san?"

"Yoooooshhhhh!!!" the crew watched as the captain grabbed the mast of the ship and ripped it off.

"What's that moron doing now?!"

"Cant take your eyes off him for a second!"

"Looks like he's going mountain climbing."

"Gomu Gomu no Ikebana!!!" Luffy suddenly stabbed the mast into the whales' head.

"Huh? That's the mast, isn't it?" Zoro suddenly said, and realization began to sink in.

"Yup. Right off our ship." Sanji confirmed.

"It's our main mast... QUIT BREAKIN' THE SHIP!!" Usopp yelled and shook his fist up at Luffy.

Laboon begin to thrash and bellowed in pain, sending a title wave at the ship.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" everyone, including Penny and the old man, yelled at Luffy. The teen ignored them.

Instead, he concentrated on holding onto the mast that was stuck into the thrashing whales' head. Laboon suddenly jumped out of the water, and dove head first towards land.

"Oi! Boy!" Crocus called out.

"It's ok! He won't die, even if he gets crushed!" Nami called out, though Penny had her doubts as she watched. Even if he was made of rubber, getting crushed by a whale, or anything that big, had to be bad.

"Heh. Baka." Luffy said as the whale dove back into the water, then dove back out and at the dark haired boy, who dodged and jumped at the whale's head. Luffy aimed a punch at the large creatures' eye, but it was deflected and he was sent flying into the light house.

"What's he thinking?!" Usopp asked, confused like everyone else. They knew their captain was a little on the crazy side, but this…..

"It's a draw!"

They looked up at the declaration from Luffy, and it made the whale pause as well.

"Pretty strong, ain't I?" He grinned at the whale.

"You wanna beat me, don't you? Our battle isn't over. So where gonna have to fight again someday. Your nakama may be dead, but from now on, I'm your rival! We'll fight again someday to decide which of us is the strongest! Once we're finished sailing the Grand Line, I'll be back! Then, we'll finish our fight!"

The whale looked at Luffy with tears in his eyes, then up at the sky and let out a happy bellow of agreement.

* * *

After the fight promise, which was quite messy, everything was rather quiet.

Zoro was sleeping, Sanji was cooking, Luffy was….being Luffy, and Usopp was repairing the mast with help from Penny.

"OI! ZORO! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND HELP! I AIN'T THE SHIPS CARPENTER!" the long nosed pirate yelled, and Penny sighed as she helped hold a steel plate in place for him to hammer. Suddenly, Namis' scream cut through the air.

"What the hell? You're so loud!" Luffy complained as Penny and Sanji rushed to see what was wrong. The others approached more warily.

"What is it, Nami-san?!" Sanji asked, balancing his masterpiece cooking while on only one foot.

"The compass is broken! It won't point in a single direction!" she said, desperation and confusion laced clearly in her voice.

"Oh, she's right." Sanji said as he stood over her, trays balanced. Penny wondered if a strong wind were to come by and knock them over on the girl, just how bad things would be.

"So you five came here without any idea about what you were getting into." Crocus said, interrupting the crews' conversation.

"What stupidity. Did you come here to throw your lives away? I told you. This ocean has no common logic to it. That compass isn't broken."

"Then, could it be a magnetic field?" Nami asked, and he nodded.

"That's right. The islands of the Grand Line are abundant with minerals causing abnormal magnetic fields along the entire line. What's more the wind and currents are completely unstable. If you're a navigator, you must realize how insurmountable this is."

"You're right. We'll be doomed if we don't have any way to determine our direction." Nami agreed, and Penny was getting worried. They weren't going to end their adventure before it began, were they? But she had heard of something before…in Rougetown, from the marines that came through that had been to the Grand Line, she was sure she had heard of some sort of special compass they used…

"Navigation of the Grand Line will be impossible…..if you don't have a log pose."

'_Oh yea, a Log Pose… now that rings a few bells. I know I've stolen them before and sold them for big __bellies__. Man, if I would have known they were worth so much, I would have kept a couple….'_

"Log pose? I've never heard of it." Nami said.

"It's a unique compass that memorizes a magnetic field." Crocus explained, and Luffy, who was eating, blinked.

"A strange compass?"

Penny looked at him, and her face brightened seeing the contraption in his hands.

"Yeah, they have a very distinct shape…."

"Like this?" Luffy asked, and Crocus nodded.

"Yes. Like that. If you don't have this log pose, sailing the Grand Line will be impossible." The old man said, and Nami nodded.

"I see. But, hold on a second. Luffy? WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE ONE?!"

Penny cringed as their captain was punched in the face, and she knew she wasn't the only one. She thought Nami would be a bit happier at the sight of a log pose…

"Those two weirdos dropped it on the ship…" He explained with a slight whine as he readjusted his hat. She punched him harder than she did before.

"They did?"

"Why'd you hit me?"

"I felt like it."

"Felt like it?" He asked as she took the log pose away from him.

"So this is a log pose. There aren't any markings on it." She said, and Crocus explained the rules of how a log pose set itself.

"But no matter which route you take, they all link to one final island. Raftel. The final island of the Grand Line. In all of history, only person known to have conquered its existence was the pirate king."

"So it has to be there! One Piece!" Usopp said, excited, and Penny smirked a bit at the look in Luffys' eyes as he crunched through bones. She did a double take. He was eating the fish bones! He had eaten the entire fish himself!

"Who knows? We'll find out when we get there!" He said, and Crocus looked at him, a look of surprise on his face too. Penny doubted it had anything to do with the missing fish.

"Alright, I'm full! Let's set sail!" Luffy suddenly declared, and the others noticed the missing fish as well.

"YOU HOGGED IT ALL TO YOURSELF!!" Sanji yelled, eyeballs nearly popping out of his head in rage.

"Whoa. Even the bones." Usopp noticed.

"Log pose, huh? This is truly precious. Our fate at sea is counting on it." Nami said as she gazed at the log pose with admiration. Penny smiled. Well, at least it was something besides money or oranges.

"You shitty gomu…!! You shitty gomu….!! I wanted Nami-san..!! I wanted Nami-san to….!! BE THE ONE TO EAT IT!!" Sanji yelled in raged and kicked Luffy in the stomach so hard he stretched, then went flying backwards past Nami.

The air, as he passed, broke the delicate glass holding the log pose, and it shattered. Penny and Usopp froze in horror at the frozen look on Namis' face.

"Why'd you kick me?" Luffy whined as he fixed his hat from where he was sitting.

"You shitty rubber, you better be ready to die…" Sanji said darkly over Luffy.

"Sanji-kun."

"Haaaiii Nami-san?" Sanji asked in a sing song voice as he turned happily. Penny winced.

"YOU TWO! GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!!" she screamed and kicked the two into the ocean.

"Wait, that was really, really important, wasn't it?" Usopp asked, and Penny sighed as she watched her nakama. It seemed they would be getting nowhere real fast.

"Our precious…Log pose…" Nami sniffled, and Crocus sighed.

"Don't worry. I have another one you can have." He said, and the three looked at him. "I owe you one for saving Laboon."

Zoro slept soundly the entire time on the ship.

* * *

Laboon surfaced, bringing up four figures from the ocean.

"Phew. Thought I was dead." Luffy said, glancing over at the three others. Sanji looked annoyed at his captain, then at the other two. The cooks' eyes locked with the pretty blue haired girls, and he stood and walked over to her.

"Allow me, honey." He said as he offered her his hand.

"Why, thank you." she said, and accepted.

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" Sanji said conversationally as Mr. 9 stood.

"I have a request."


	5. Chapter 5

Penny stared down suspiciously at the "whalers" that were begging for a ride to "Whiskey Peak". They were too suspicious for her liking, and she already didn't like them to begin with. Heh, and Nami seemed to have fun messing with them as well.

"We throw ourselves on the mercy of your kindness." Mr. 9 said as he looked at them, his eyes not the least bit begging. But as Penny continued to look at them, she noticed that the girls' were. Strange…

"Sure. You can come." Luffy said, bluntly, causing everyone to stare at him in disbelief. Even Penny. She figured they would end up giving them a ride, but this easily…

"It's called Whiskey Peek, right? Let's go there."

"O-Oi, are you serious?!" Usopp said. "We just meet these guys and you're just going to bring them along just like that?"

Penny agreed with him with a nod of her head.

"Its fine; don't worry about details like that."

The girl felt a sweat drop. That was her captain, all right…

"Just who are you?" Miss Wednesday demanded, and he grinned at her.

"Me? I'm the man who's going to become the pirate king!" He said with a grin, and turned and went on his way. Penny narrowed her eyes, fingering her knifes silently at the snickers of the two.

Soon, they all set off for Whiskey Peek, leaving Laboon and Crocus behind.

* * *

"Ok! It's done! The man that came out of the sky, '_Mr. Snowman'_!" Penny snickered from her spot bundled up on the railing above Zoro, and watched as Usopp laughed. She wondered what he made.

When she saw his sculpture of a woman named "snow queen", her jaw dropped. He was actually good.

'_Usopp-kun's almost like a jack-of-all trades. Hehe, good thing we've got one, or else this ship would be doomed.' _Penny thought this glancing at Luffy, then Zoro. She then saw Sanji shoveling snow, and sighed as she walked over to help him.

She saw him turn around, and raised an eyebrow as he looked up at Nami's room. "Nami-san! How much longer shall I continue my snow shoveling of love?!"

"Until it stops snowing, Sanji-kun." Came the blunt, unmerciful reply.

"Yes, Nami-saaann!" He said in his happy, sing-song voice. Penny felt a sweat drop roll off her head at the man's willingness to please the navigator as she grabbed a shovel and began helping the cook.

"Don't worry about helping me, Penny-chan; I've got everything taken care of!" He said happily, and she smiled.

"I'm sure you do, Sanji-kun, but I'm bored watching Luffy and the others fight and Zoro snore. Say, what do you think about those two? Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9?" She asked, and he took a drag off his cigarette and leaned against the shovel, then exhaled.

"They probably aren't good news but…..Miss Wednesday is so pretty!!" He had hearts in his eyes, and she sighed.

"Sanji-kun! I'm serious! There's something up with those two, something off about them. And there's definitely something off about that Wednesday girl. She's so….fake. Like she's putting on. I don't know, but try to not get too caught up with her? IF you can?" She asked with a sigh, and he practically squealed.

"Ahhh! Penny-chan's worried about me! I'll be ok, Penny-chan! You don't have to worry about me!"

Penny sighed, and considered bashing him over the head with the shovel, but doubted it would help his condition. He was too far gone already.

Suddenly, lightening flashed brightly through the sky, causing Penny to jump and Sanji to tense. Then Nami's scream pierced through the halls. Penny and Sanji ran towards where she was, Penny with knifes thrown and ready to kill someone who had hurt her nakama, and Sanji because he was… Sanji.

"What's going on?!" She demanded.

"What's wrong, Nami-san?" Sanji asked, and she looked at them.

"Turn the ship at 180 degrees! Hurry!" She barked, and Penny deflated. So their heading was off. That was all?

"Are you really a navigator?" Miss Wednesday's voice drawled from the cabin. "In this ocean, the wind, the sky, the waves, the clouds, you can't trust any of it. The only thing you CAN trust is the direction the log poses' needle points. Get it now?" Penny knew that the girls tone meant bad news for the two, and was right, for a second later, they were kicked out.

"Turn the brace-yard! Catch the wind coming from starboard!" Nami ordered. "Usopp take the aft sail! Sanji-kun, take the helm!"

From that point on, it was pure chaos on the ship.

* * *

Zoro stretched hours later and yawned slightly as he woke up.

"Ah. Good nap."

He stood and looked around the deck, where everyone was sprawled out, exhausted from work.

"Oi oi. Aren't you guys being a little lazy on a nice day like this? You know where we're headed, right?" He said, and then asked Nami.

"You…" a vein throbbed on everyone's head, and he found himself dodging three knifes that were flung at his head by an exhausted Penny. Had he not dodged, they would have hit their target.

"Hm? Why are you two on board?" He asked, seeing the two extras.

"SLOW!" Mr. 9 cried out in despair, and despite herself, Penny couldn't help but laugh at the green haired man.

"We're headed towards their town. The place's called Whiskey Peek." Luffy explained cheerfully, not the least bit tired.

"You mean were giving them a lift?" Zoro asked, a bit confused. "It's not like we owe them anything."

"Yeah. Nothing." Luffy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and with a happy grin on his face.

"Well, not that I care." He said, and then knelt down in front of the two. "Oooh. Those look like the faces that have nasty ideas...what were those names again?" He asked, and the two shied away. Penny found herself grinning. No one was immune to Zoro's scariness when you first meet him, not even her.

"P-Please call me M-Mr. 9."

"I-I'm Miss Wednesday."

"Really. I've been thinking about those names since I've first heard them. Maybe I've heard them before, maybe I haven't…..well, either way, ack!" Nami whacked him in the back of the head, sending him face first into the deck. He bounced back up, face red. Penny frowned because she was annoyed at Nami, and pouted. And things were getting good, too.

"YOU. I hope you enjoyed taking that little NAP of yours. Snoring away no matter how much we tried to wake you…" Zoro turned, a vein o his head and glared at her. Penny winced in sympathy for him.

"Stay on your toes, everyone! Who knows what will happen next? I can finally grasp the fearsomeness of this ocean. I understand why they call it the Grand Line. But it hasn't even begun to see MY navigation skills! Bet on it!" Nami said, conviction behind her words.

"Will we…really be ok?" Usopp asked, and Nami smiled.

"It'll be fine! Something good will come our way. And if you want proof…Look. The first leg of our journey is complete." At this, she pointed behind Penny. The crew looked at where she pointed, and in the fog rose to reveal what looked to be giant cacti.

"Land ho! Hehe" Luffy said, excitement evident in his voice.

"So this is whiskey Peek…." Sanji said as he gazed at it curiously. "Sure is a weird looking island."

"Check out those huge cacti!" Luffy said and pointed, reminding Penny of a child. More so then usual.

The two lifting a ride jumped on the railing of their ship, and seemed to pose.

"This is our stop." Mr. 9 said in an almost sinister way.

"Thank you for the ride, my honeys." Miss Wednesday followed up.

"Bye bye, baby!" They both said, and then jumped into the ocean and begin swimming. Penny shrugged it off. Now that they were rid of those two nuisances, she would feel better. Luffy didn't even notice they were gone.

"Who cares? Where here!" Luffy said happily.

"There's a river mouth up ahead." Nami said. "Looks like we can disembark there."

"You don't think there will be monsters and stuff here, do you?" Usopp asked, and Penny paused. She had never thought of that…

"Could be. This IS the Grand Line." Sanji said bluntly, and she scowled a bit. Oh, that was _real _reassuring.

"If we meet some monsters, we can just leave, right?" Luffy said, and Penny rolled her eyes.

"No we can't. Don't forget there's a certain amount of time we have to stay on this island for the Log Pose to set."

"So, even if we want to get off this monster island, we might not be able to?!" Usopp said in despair. Penny was beginning to feel the same way, though she already knew the information. She had, after all, been paying a bit of attention.

"Well, if that happens, well worry about it then. Let's just go!" Luffy said, eager to go.

"Luffy's right. Let's just go. Just thinking about it isn't going to get us anywhere." Zoro agreed with Luffy, also eager to go. It was WHISKEY Peek, after all.

"And no matter what happens, I'll protect Nami-san and Penny-chan!" Sanji said happily. Penny sighed. Well, if that didn't make a person feel better, what did?

"Hey, everyone, listen to me. I've suddenly contracted an I-can't-get-on-this-island disease….-"

"Alright, we'll go. But remember. Be prepared to run or fight at any time."

Sometimes, Penny thought that Nami should be the captain instead of Luffy.

* * *

"There's movement on the shores." Penny alerted the crew, and everyone squinted through the fog. Forms of people begin to show.

"There are people on the shore!" Sanji warned, and Nami got on guard again immediately.

"Everyone, on guard!" She warned. Penny pulled out a knife in each hand to deflect or throw in any direction she needed too.

"Ah…shit...I guess I'll have to brace for the worst. Be you monsters or whatever… COME ON OUT!!"

As the fog lifted, they were assaulted by the cheering of the towns people: "Welcome to the Grand Line!" "Welcome to our town!"

To say the least, Penny and a few of the others were baffled. "The town of celebration, Whiskey Peak!"

"So the monster town is…..welcoming us?" Penny said a bit confused.

"What's going on?" Sanji asked, but didn't expect an answer. Soon, he didn't care. "Oh! There are so many cute girls!"

Penny sighed. He was already a goner.

"Welc- ahem - mah mah maaaaaaaahh." Penny cringed a bit, but tried to hide it. After all, they were being welcomed.

"Welcome. My name is Igarappoi. I am the mayor of Whiskey Peak."

"I'm Luffy. Nice to meet ya." Luffy said, a bit bluntly, but friendly, then. "Ossan, your hair's way to curly."

Penny once again got the sudden urge to slam her fist into the back of her captains' head.

"This is the town spirit brewing with lively music, Whiskey Peak. We take pride in our hospitality. We have an entire ocean of spirits for your enjoyment. Would you care to join us in celebrating and share stories of your adventures? We would be- ahem - mah maah maaaaaaaaah - We would be delighted"

Penny narrowed her eyes the slightest. What kind of town welcomed pirates with open arms so suddenly? Not all pirates were peaceful, after all. Something seemed a bit off.

"OUR PLEASURE!!" Before she could say anything, Sanji, Luffy, and Usopp answered for everyone.

* * *

That evening, Penny watched the party going on around her with hawk like eyes. She avoided the cute guys; she wasn't interested in getting with anyone after all, and made sure not to interact. She did drink, though, and only a few drinks at that. And that, she realized too late, was too much. After all, the way things looked, the drinks were spiked, and after a while, she was beginning to feel tipsy. Sure, she wasn't as good of a drinker as Zoro, but she could hold her alcohol.

Once everyone began to fall asleep, she herself stretched out and closed her eyes. She wouldn't really go to sleep, but it wouldn't hurt to pretend…

* * *

The sounds of gunfire work Penny, who by now had slept off the effects of whatever-it-was that had her down. She looked around, and noticed Zoro was gone.

'_Where could he be? Unless he's the one causing the commotion….'_

She slipped silently out of the room, making sure to knock-out the guards that were placed in the room, and headed towards where the commotion was. She slipped through some of the alley ways, then onto a roof top just in time to see Zoro standing back to back with the mayor, his sword in the man's hair. The mayor threw up his horn, and she grabbed a knife and with expert speed and precision threw it.

It hit, causing the horn to tilt more away from the sky, hitting more of its own people. Her knife deflected, and embedded itself into one of the bounty hunters hearts. Her eyes were barely able to follow Zoro's movements, and she herself used abnormal speed to hop, throw the bounty hunters, and step into the alley-way with the swordsman.

"Phew. That thing's a shotgun? It nearly got me. What was-Penny?!" He hissed, surprised at her sudden appearance.

"Yo. What's the situation?" She asked as she twirled a knife in each hand in an expert grip. He glowered.

"Don't _'Yo'_ Me! You nearly got yourself killed sneaking up on me like that!" He hissed again, and she grinned, giving him a peace sign.

"But I didn't. So? These guys are bounty hunters, right?" She asked, and he glowered, but explained who they were to her. He figured it would be a good time to see her in action.

"Where is he? Find him! Keep looking!"

Penny looked at Zoro as he looked down at his swords. If she remembered correctly, two of them were new.

"This will be a good chance to give you two a serious test." He said, talking to the swords. She sweat dropped a bit. "I'll let you lose on those guys!" He then looked at Penny. "You can take as many of the grunts as you want, but I want to be the one to go after the big guys."

Penny frowned.

"Hmph. That's not fair...but fine. How about we split up, then? That way if they find one of us, it will create a distraction for the other?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Sure you want to go it alone--OI!!"

He found a knife buried an inch from his head into the side of a building.

"Sure I'm sure. I'm a big girl, and I've dealt with crowds before."

Penny grabbed her knife, and using the walls, leapt from one to another until she reached the roof. Zoro watched her, a scowl on his face, before he huffed.

"Whatever."

* * *

"…the infiltrator is none other than the kingdom of Arabasta's currently missing…"

At this statement, the "Mayor" opened fire on the two.

"Now this is an interesting development, nah?" Zoro smirked; he had sensed the girl this time, his senses sharp after the battle.

"Ah."

"I knew there was something off about her, something fake." Penny said as she took a seat beside the green haired man, who offered her a drink. She sighed.

"I've had enough for tonight." She said moodily, and he shrugged.

"Suit yourself, then."

"By order of the boss of Baroque works, you are to be eliminated." Mr. 5 finished as he held up photos of the princess.

"Damn. Luffy's still down there." Zoro said, more amused at the captain then the current situation. Penny rolled her eyes and stayed tuned in on the conversation below.

"Hurry, Vivi-sama! Escape while you can!" The man, now known as Igaram, exclaimed as he continued to open fire on Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

With what appeared to be a flick of his wrist, Mr. 5 sent fire right back at Igaram, and it was much more powerful. The man fell over, unconscious.

"Let's grab Luffy now." Zoro said, and Penny nodded as the two grabbed their still slumbering captain and slipped past everyone.

They watched as Igaram begged the girl to leave, and Mr. 9 attempting to help his long time partner.

"Oi Oi! That's some dangerous snot!" Zoro said.

"Y-Yeah." Penny was a bit weirded out. So that was what he had flicked at Igaram….

'_Eeewwwwwwwwww!!!'_

"OI! Creep!!"

Penny looked at Zoro offended, and then blinked seeing that he was talking to Igaram, who had somehow ended up beside them.

"Mr. Swordsman! Seeing the strength of one such as yourself, I ask of you an unreasonable request!"

"Don't offer things to me! I don't care! Get your hands off of me!"

"The two before us have the abilities of the Devil Fruits! I am no match for them! I beseech you! Protect the princess in my stead!! Will you accept?"

"Keh!"

"Far to the east lies the kingdom of Arabasta! If you deliver the princess safely, there will most certainly be a most handsome reward! I beseech you! Please protect the princess!"

"Quit screwing around!! You just tried to kill us, remember?! Don't make me cut you again!!"

"A handsome reward, you say?" Penny should have seen it coming. Anytime money is mentioned, Nami seemed to magically appear.

"I like the sound of that. How about one billion belli?"

"W-Wha-" Zoro stuttered, and Penny wasn't sure if it was because of her accepting the request of the amount of money.

"One b-bill -ahem- mah maah maaaaah-"

"I thought you passed out." Zoro said bluntly, though there was a bit of surprise in his tone.

"Come on now. A suspicious town that throws a party when pirates come by? What kind of idiot would get smashed in a place like THIS?"

Oh, Penny could think of a few idiots that would…

Nami smirked. "It was all an act. An act! I can take loads more!"

"Hmph. Good for you." Zoro huffed.

"Well? Will you offer the billion beli, guard captain?" She asked in an innocent, cute voice. Penny felt another sweat drop. "If we don't help you out, your princess will die, right?"

"I am but a soldier. I cannot make such an expensive promise." He admitted. Nami knelt in front of him.

"Hmm. So you're saying the princess of your country isn't worth that price?" She asked curiously, eyes narrowed. "Gimme."

Penny almost laughed.

"Isn't that extortion?" Zoro asked, and Penny shrugged.

"We are pirates, I guess." She said, and he hmphed a bit at her.

"Then... if you guarantee you will deliver her unharmed… if you negotiate with the princess directly, I'm sure she will agree!" He said, and Nami smirked.

"So you're saying we have to save her first."

"Even as we speak, the princess's life is…!"

"I got it. We will save your princess for the time being. Right. GET MOVING, ZORO!"

Penny snickered, and Zoro growled.

"I'M NOT GOING, IDIOT! Why do I have to be part of you god damn money-making schemes?!"

"You're so stupid. My money is mine. But my agreements are your agreements."

"SINCE WHEN DID A BRAT LIKE YOU BECOME MY BOSS?!"

Penny snickered at the commotion, and then blinked, noticing Luffy was waking up.

"Oi, captain! Have a good rest?"

He looked at her, eyes still half asleep as the two behind her argued.

"Need to piss." She sweat-dropped at his comment.

"Ok then." She said and sighed as he disappeared.

"…I hope you die a horrible, horrible death."

She looked back at the others. Obviously, she hadn't missed much. She snickered. Poor Zoro.

"That's right. I'm going straight to hell." Nami said cheerfully.

"Shit!! I HATE YOU!!" Zoro yelled as he took off running.

"If you'd be so kind!" Nami called out in a sing-song voice, and Penny felt a cold chill creep up her spine at the thought of getting on that woman's bad side.

"The humiliation…" Both girls turned and looked at the man lying on the ground. "If I were strong enough, I could have protected the princess myself."

Nami smiled, and Penny found herself sighing as she knelt down in front of him.

"It's alright. Zoro's so strong, it's ridiculous. You saw that first hand. All I did was throw my knives. Speaking of, I'm going to go retrieve them, will you be ok by yourself, Nami?" she asked, and Nami nodded as the girl jumped onto a roof and disappeared.

* * *

It took a while, but Penny's knives were soon all accounted for. She heard the sounds of battle in the distance, and blinked a bit. Perhaps the girl could help Zoro out a bit…Or at least watch and get a good show.

When she got to the sight of the battle, it wasn't exactly what she was expecting. Zoro had just thrown Luffy through a building. "W-what the hell's going on?"

She landed by Vivi, who jumped, and Carue became startled as well. "Calm down. We're here to help." she said carefully, still a bit weary of the girl.

"Luffy-san thinks that Mr. Bushido sliced up everyone for no reason at all, and is trying to kill him!" she said, and Penny's eyes widened, before she begin to snicker, then full blown laughter came from her mouth.

"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!" Zoro yelled, and she let her giggles died down.

"Are you serious?" She asked, and he growled, and then looked as explosives came from the area that Luffy had been thrown. Miss Valentine came through the smoke.

"You will now die by my Kilo Kilo powers!!" the blonde Baroque Works woman laughed. "Prepare yourselves! I was able to ride on the explosive because my weight is a mere one kilogram!"

"Mr. Bushido, get out of the way! That woman-" Vivi started, but was quickly shut off.

"Stay out of this!"

Vivi gasped at the swordsman's exclamation

"I don't have time for that."

A shadow emerged from the dust, and Luffy came out, dragging Mr. 5.

"Ah, good exercise got rid of all that food. Now I can finally get serious." he said as he patted his stomach and glared at Zoro, who looked at him and once again tried to explain things.

"LIAR!! ENEMIES DON'T GIVE YOU FOOD!!"

"Luffy. It seems that nothing I say is going to get to you." At this, Zoro dodged the Kilo Kilo woman's power with ease and pulled his bandana off his arm and tied it around his head.

"You stupid idiot!! Now I'm gonna try and kill you!! So don't be pissed at me when you wind up dead!"

"Bring it on!!"

"Hold on!" Vivi and Penny both said at the same time, but were ignored.

"It's probably best to let them keep at it. Luffy and Zoro are close. If anyone can get to Luffy, it's Zoro." Penny said with a sigh.

"What should we do? Should we run?" Vivi asked, and Penny smirked.

"Run if you want, I'm watching this." she said as she leaned back, but was soon blown backwards and onto her backside by their next attack.

"Kuso…these guys have made a fool of me…and a disgrace of Baroque Works officer agents." Mr. 5 growled as he stood.

"Mr. 5, let's show them exactly what we can do!"

"Here we go, Miss Valentine!"

Before either could go, though, Penny walked in front of them. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. Their a bit…busy, as you can see." The girl said as she pulled out two of her knives and offered an apologetic smile, though her eyes glinted with excitement.


	6. Chapter 6

Before either could go, though, Penny walked in front of them. "Sorry, but I'm afraid that I can't let you do that. They're a bit…busy, as you can see." She said as she pulled out two of her knives and offered an apologetic smile, though her eyes glinted with excitement.

* * *

"You, girl: Want to try and take US on?" Mr. 5 said, genuinely surprised. Penny sighed, and then threw a knife with almost unseen speed at Miss Valentines umbrella. Said umbrella was impaled against a nearby wall and thus, ruined.

"That should just about get rid of - oops!" Penny effortlessly tossed a knife and jumped backward, her aim true as it hit the wad of snot flying towards her.

"Sorry, but I'm better at long distance, too. Guess we'll just have to see who has more of what: you with your buggers, or me with my knives." she smiled wickedly.

"Why you…! I'll show you…!" Miss Valentine screeched before falling over, silent, with a knife glinting from her chest.

"Your assistant isn't very good. How did she get to number five anyways?" The girl asked as she twirled her knifes and threw three of them in quick succession at Mr. 5.

The man was barely able to dodge, though he still found a way to flick snot at her. Penny dodged, making it look easy, and knelt down so the wind from the explosion wouldn't knock her over. She grunted and jumped back some as an aftershock from Luffy and Zoro's fight hit her, then leaped up off the side of a building, kicking off a back flip before landing beside Mr. 5.

She managed to do all this while dodging a bugger.

The girl pulled out two daggers from her boots, and slashed at him, catching his arm. Mr.5 cried out, stumbling backwards. As he did, Penny pulled out another knife, holding one of her previous daggers in her teeth, and threw the newly acquired one at him. He tried to dodge, but failed in doing so, seeing how it still managed to hit him in the stomach.

She glanced behind her, and noticed Nami had arrived, and stopped the fight between Luffy and Zoro. As she jumped forward to slash at the man again, this time for a finishing blow, she grinned a bit to herself. Oh, those two were in SO much trouble.

-

-

-

"Man, Zoro, why didn't you just say so? I thought that you go mad and killed 'em all… Just cause they didn't have your favorite food!"

Penny tried not to snicker at Luffy as he grinned at Zoro happily, the look of a complete moron on the captains' face.

"YOU JERK!! THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD DO!!" Zoro yelled, and then glanced at Penny and the two dead bodies in the distance.

"I guess you're not such a push over after all." he said as Penny blinked at him. She then looked at the two fallen bodies.

"Oh, that? Well, as long as its long distance combat and I've got my daggers or a knife with me, I can hold my own pretty well. Besides, who the hell said I was a push over?" she asked, seeming a bit annoyed. Did he think because she was a girl that she couldn't fight?

"Shi shi shi shi! I told you Penny-chan was a good fighter!"

"You people! Shut up! That's our offer. We want one billion belli to escort you there safely." Nami yelled at the three, and then turned back to Princess Vivi with her offer.

"You saw how strong these guys are, right? Quite a bargain, don't you think?"

"Impossible." Vivi interrupted, and Nami looked at her surprised. The princess then stated: "You have my gratitude for saving my life. Thank you."

"Why is it impossible? You're a princess, aren't you?!" Nami demanded, hands on her hips. "It's just a measly billion…"

"Do you know of a country named Arabasta?" Vivi asked gently, and Penny was completely surprised by the one-eighty the blue-haired girls' personality did. The rouge liked the change.

"No…" Nami admitted.

"It was a great pillar of civilization. A land of peace. Long ago, that is."

Nami looked at Vivi, an expression of surprise on the navigator's face.

"Long ago? And now?" Penny asked, curious as well.

"It's on the verge of civil war. In recent years, a call for revolution has emerged. The citizens begin committing acts of insurrection… Causing the land to fall into chaos. But one day, I heard the name of a secret organization. Baroque Works!" Her face contorted into rage at the name, and Penny secretly applauded the girls acting up until now if she really was this angry at them.

"I discovered they were responsible for inflicting the rebellion. Aside from this, however, I was unable to get any further information. So I went to Igaram who had looked after me since I was little." Vivi continued explaining.

"The curly haired old man?" Luffy interrupted, and Penny bumped him.

"Shhh!"

"Curly- Yes, that's him. I decided to infiltrate Baroque Works. I thought that if I did, I could find out who was pulling the strings and what his plans were."

"Pretty gutsy for a princess." Zoro said with a smirk. Penny shushed him too, but had to agree.

"So? Did you find out his intentions?"

"The establishment of an ideal nation." Nami declared. The princess gasped and looked at her in shock. "Igaram-san told me earlier. Could it be that…?"

"Yes. He claims that establishing this _'ideal nation'_ is their purpose. But that's a complete lie. His true intention is to seize the throne of Arabasta! I must hurry to my country and tell my people the truth, and prevent them from joining the insurrections! If this continues…! If this continues….!" The girls' shoulders shook with pent up tears and frustration.

"I see." Nami said in understanding. "So that's what's going on. It finally makes sense now. If you're on the verge of civil war money must be scarce."

Penny inwardly and outwardly rolled her eyes. It was always about money with Nami.

"Oi. Who's the mastermind?" Luffy asked, and the look on his face made the girl feel a bit uncomfortable.

"T-The boss' true identity?! You can't ask me that!"

Pennys' eyebrows raised in curiosity at the blue-haired girls' panicked reaction.

"But you know, right?" Luffy asked, confused.

"Don't ask that! I can't tell you! If I tell you that, they would hunt you down too!"

"Ahahaha. Well, we sure done want that. And of course, trying to take over a whole nation… He must be an incredibly strong guy, right?" Nami asked, a sneaky smile painted on her face.

"Yes. He is. No matter how strong you may be, there's no way you could even hope to touch him. One of the Shichibukai…Crocodile."

At this, the princess looked up, and the crew looked at her. Penny felt a sweat-drop on her head.

Nami was _good._

"Who's that?" Luffy asked dumbly while Nami and Penny were frozen in realization of the power they were possibly up against. Vivi gasped, realizing she had let the secret slip.

"You just said it." Zoro said bluntly, not helping at all. Penny and the others looked up, and saw a vulture and otter squatted on the roof above them.

"HEY!!! WHATS WITH THE OTTER AND THE VULTURE?! One of the Shichibukai is gonna be after us now!" Nami screeched as Pennys' knees nearly started shaking in fear. One of the Shichibukai? One of the Shichibukai was going to be after them now?!

"She said _'Shichibukai'_!" Luffy said, eyes large and starry.

"Not bad." Zoro responded, a grinning in a way that practically matched his captains'.

"You two! Do you have any idea how serious this is? Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, is after us!" Penny repeated unnecessarily, and Luffy just laughed while Zoro smirked whilst picked at his nose.

She groaned as Nami cried behind them.

"We're pretty lucky we get to fight one so soon." Zoro commented to Luffy, ignoring the two more sane women.

"I wonder what he's like…" Luffy wondered, same grin as before plastered on his face.

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!!" Nami and Penny screamed simultaneously.

"Though it wasn't for long, it's been nice knowing you all." Nami said suddenly as she started walking off.

"Where are you going?" Luffy called out, obviously confused.

Penny considered for a fleeting moment following the navigator.

"They don't know my face yet, so I'm outta here!"

Nami paused as she saw the otter and vulture sitting in front of her. The otter turned around four pieces of paper, each with a perfect sketch of their faces.

"Ahaha, you're pretty good. NO!! NOW I CANT EVEN RUN AWAY!!"

"That guy's pretty good." Luffy commented, completely ignoring the wailing Nami and the fact she would have abandoned the crew given the chance.

"Just where were you going to run away to, anyway?" Zoro asked, and then grinned. "In any case, the four of us have been added to the Baroque Works death list!"

Luffy laughed. "This is so exciting!"

Penny sighed. "I'm just the musician. Why do I have to get the death penalty?"

"Fear not! I have a plan! Ahem - mah maah maaaah!"

The crew looked up, and Penny cringed at the sight of a cross dressing-Igaram carrying Vivis' clothes.

'Igaram! What are those clothes for?" Vivi asked as she jumped up from where she was trying to comfort Nami, and made her way over to the curly haired man.

"Ossan! You'll fool anyone wearing those clothes!" Luffy said with a laugh, and Penny sweat dropped. He couldn't be serious...

"My god... I'm surrounded by idiots" Nami muttered behind them, and Penny coughed to cover a laugh. Zoro shot her a look, and Penny smiled innocently.

"Vivi-sama, please listen carefully. Baroque Works' information network will soon receive that report. Once they know we are the ones that know the boss' true identity… You understand what will happen, don't you?" As Igaram explained this, Luffy continued to examine his disguise. Penny shook her head with a sigh, and covered her eyes a bit with her hand.

"As many as a thousand hunters could soon be coming after us" Vivi said, her voice not wavering in the least. Penny was impressed at this before she realized what the blue haired princess had said.

A THOUSAND?!

"That is why I have dressed in the manner of the princess. I will depart with these three dummies and travel on a straight course for Arabasta."

"These three dummies are us?" Luffy asked with a slight whine in his voice as he poked at one of the dummies' heads.

"Decoys" Zoro said, a little impressed.

"Once they have begun pursuing me, Vivi-sama and yourselves and depart safely for Arabasta." Igaram finished.

"NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!" Nami yelled and stood up, the last sentence obviously snapping her out of her stupor. "Who said that we were taking the princess anywhere?! We still don't have a contract. "

"Take the princess?" Luffy asked as he looked at Vivi with a funny expression.

"What's that about?"

"Weren't you listening to them?" Zoro asked as he stood up from where he had been sitting and stood beside Penny. The girl had sighed and shook her head at Luffy.

"The old man here wants us to take her home."

"Oh. Is that what there on about?"

Penny didn't like Luffys' simple-minded-answer.

"Okay."

No, she didn't like it at all.

'_Shichibukai…..Crocodile….am I really going to die so young...?'_ she thought to herself, and was obviously not the only one who disagreed.

"CROCODILE IS GOING TO TRY AND KILL US!!" Nami screamed, half hysterical, half boiling with rage. Penny was sure she saw fangs…

"This Crocodile, is he really that strong?" Luffy asked Igaram, and Penny, for the nth time, felt like hitting her captain. Did he not know what he was getting into?

"He is currently one of the Shichibukai. Before the government removed him from his wanted list, his bounty was eighty million."

Penny and Namis' jaws dropped, while Zoro whistled in appreciation.

"Eighty million belli?! That's FOUR times Arlongs'!! TURN HIM DOWN" Nami yelled, and Penny nodded. She had been told the story of Arlong through Usopp, but Sanji had deleted the "Great-Captain-Usopp" moments and told her a more truthful

version.

"Will you accept?" Igaram asked, his eyes locked with Luffy. The rubber man had his usual smile on his face.

"Sure." The straw-hat boy said, and grinned. "Sounds like fun."

Penny put her arm around Nami and the two girls leaned into each other, near tears.

-

-

-

"You have my utmost gratitude!" Igaram said as they departed.

"Mah - maah - maaaaaaaaahhh- I, Vivi-sama, shall now be leaving now…." Igaram said in a very unconvincing voice. Luffy laughed.

"Old man! You're just like her!" He said.

"Like WHO?" Zoro and Penny both asked at the same time.

"Now then, Princess, please hand me the Eternal Pose." Igaram held out his hand in waiting, and the crew watched as Vivi did so, near tears.

"Eternal Pose?" Nami asked, and Igaram turned to her.

"You haven't heard of it? I'll try to explain. It is an eternally preserved Log Pose. A Log Pose guides you from one island to the next, but an Eternal Log Pose never forgets the magnetic location of the one island it is set to. It shall 'eternally' point towards that island. And this one points the way to Arabasta!" He explained to the orange haired navigator.

"With this, you can get to Arabasta." Vivi said softly.

Penny knew this was goodbye between the two of them for a while, maybe forever.

"Vivi-sama, after making a few stops, please hurry to Arabasta. I have never done it myself, but I am certain you can follow the log two or three times to get there." He smiled down at her in a fatherly way, and then turned to the crew. "With that, I leave the Princess in your care."

"Sure!" Was Luffy's cheerful reply.

"Igaram." Vivi said as she looked up at the large man with large brown eyes. He smiled down at her.

"I think the journey will be dangerous. Please be careful along the way." the curly haired man said before he started to turn.

"Iga-" Vivi started to call out his name, but stopped, her eyes once again tearing up, but she held strong and didn't let them fall. Penny smiled. The girl had a strong will.

Instead, she held out her hand for him to shake. "You too."

With that, the crew and the princess watched as he set sail and begin to leave the harbor.

"Well, he's gone. He was a cool old man, wasn't he?" Luffy asked with a grin as Vivi smiled back at him.

"Yes. We can count on him." She answered with a gentle tone. She truly did love the man like family.

Suddenly, before their very eyes, the ship blew up. Everyone gasped, eyes widened, and Namis' face had terror written all over it.

"I-It can't be!" She said in disbelief. "They've already come…?"

Penny turned when she saw Luffy turn to pick his hat up, and looked at him wide eyed as he put it on from where it was blown away from the explosion.

"Luffy….?" She asked softly, and then looked back to Vivi. The poor girl…

"HE WAS A GREAT MAN!" Luffy yelled, and everyone seemed to jump into action as Luffy took off at a run.

"Nami! The log!" Zoro demanded, and the navigator gasped as she looked at it.

"I-It's alright! And it's already set!" She exclaimed as she looked at it. Zoro then looked at Vivi, who was staring at the ocean.

"Penny! Grab her! Get to the ship!"

Penny darted towards the girl.

"Vivi! Vivi! Come on, hurry! If they see us here, everything will have been in vain!" Penny snapped as she tried to get the raging princess to come along willingly. Her eyes widened seeing that Vivi was biting her lip so hard to keep from crying that it was bleeding. The rouge grabbed the girl in a hug.

"It's alright. Well get you home safely. These guys… they might not look like much, but they saved all of East Blue; just the four of them! And now I'm with them, and I can at least take down the fifth ranking officers in Baroque Works! And Nami is the best navigator I've ever seen! So what's Baroque Works to us? What's Crocodile? Huh?! The Shichibukai don't stand a chance!"

With that she grabbed the girl around the waist and lifted her over her shoulder and began to run to where she ship was anchored.

"Hurry up Penny, Vivi!!" Nami yelled as the sea-green eyed girl caught up with the navigator.

"Carue is still missing!" Vivi said suddenly as they neared the ship.

"We don't have time to look for him right now!" Nami said as Penny nodded and tried to urge the girl onto the ship.

"But I can't leave him here all alone!"

"Oi! What's wrong?" Zoro called down from the ship. He already had the anchor up.

"She says her spot billed duck is missing! She says it should have come when she whistled, but it won't!" Penny yelled with frustration. Things were getting dangerous, and they were looking for a friggen' duck!?

"You mean him?"

"Quack!"

They looked up, and Penny felt a sweat drop on the back of her head when she saw the duck stranding beside Zoro.

"YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME!?" The three girls yelled together.

"He was already onboard when I got on." Zoro said, and Penny sighed. Animal instincts…

"If we sail up the river, it will branch of into the sea." Vivi said as she climbed up the ladder. "We'll be able to get on course faster."

"YOSHA! LET'S GO!"

"…Really? Two thousand people?" Penny caught the end part of conversation and looked up from where she was sitting, near Usopp and Sanji, interested. So they were up against about two thousand people?

"HUH?!" Sanjis' voice rang out, and Penny grinned. So they were awake. Wonder how they were going to react…

"Oi…the ship is moving?" Usopp said confused.

"You're finally up?" Nami said bluntly, and the two exploded.

"WAIT!! Let's stay another night!!" Sanji yelled.

"Right!!" Usopp backed him up.

"This town was so much fun and the girls were SO CUTE!!"

Penny felt a vein throb a bit on her head as she itched to pull out her knives. Spilling a little more blood tonight wouldn't hurt…

"When will we find another awesome place like this?!" Usopp demanded, near tears.

"Lets take it slow, dammit!"

"We're pirates….!"

From the vein throbbing on Namis' forehead, she wouldn't have to spill any blood.

"Were about to clear the island." Vivi stated as she looked at the surroundings.

"Cool! Fog!" Luffy said and laughed. Penny shook her head. He was so much like a little kid at times…

"It'll be morning soon." Nami said.

"What's the name of the next island, Nami?" Penny asked.

"It's called Shuriken Island. I don't know anything about it, though, except that it's got a lot of forest and mountains." Nami explained, and the crew looked at Vivi to see if she knew.

"Well, it's an island that's guarded by ninjas. From what I've heard, though, it's become corrupt, and that it's not the best place to live anymore. There are two or three fishing villages there, that's all, and they are all over taxed and bullied by the ninja." she explained.

"Ninja? COOL!!" Luffy had stars in his eyes. "Yosha! Lets set sail for Shuriken Island!"

Penny sighed. This was going to be another interesting adventure, she already knew it.


	7. Chapter 7

"_What's the name of the next island, Nami?" Penny asked._

"_It's called Shuriken Island. I don't know anything about it, though, except that it's got a lot of forest and mountains." Nami explained, and the crew looked at Vivi to see if she knew. _

"_Well, it's an island that's guarded by ninja. From what I've heard, though, it's become corrupt, and that it's not the best place to live anymore. There are two or three fishing villages there, that's all, and they are all over taxed and bullied by the ninja." She explained._

"_Ninja? COOL!" Luffy had stars in his eyes. "YOSHA! Lets set sail for Shuriken Island!"_

_Penny sighed. This was going to be another interesting adventure, she already knew it. _

"Nah, Nami. What's our current money situation?"

Everyone froze at Pennys' question, and Penny inwardly hit herself for asking. Who was stupid enough to question Nami of all people about money? She was lucky to not be in the navigators' debt as it was!

"Actually, we're running a bit low, now that you mention it. Why?" Nami asked, her eyes narrowing a bit suspiciously.

The crew was on their way to Shuriken Island, and Luffy could hardly sit still in his impatience to get there. And he was hungry. They were low on food, so of course Sanji was being stingy with it, letting the ladies eat first.

"Well, I was just thinking, when we get to Shuriken Island, I, or we, could… you know, replenish our treasure pile a bit." Penny said with a slight smile causing Nami to smirk a bit.

"Of course, of course. You know, I haven't really seen your thieving skills, and you haven't really contributed to the crew… money-wise, I mean. This is a good chance to prove yourself."

A spark of annoyance ran through Penny at Namis' words.

"I've been a thief all my life, Nami. Are you doubting my skills?" she said a bit coldly. Nami returned the look, though the navigator had a smirk on her face.

"Can you blame me? It's obvious who the better thief between us is, but you have yet to actually-"

"Ladies, ladies! Calm down, lets not argue - WHA!" Usopp promptly stumbled back as a knife was thrown at him and landed at his feet as a warning to keep his mouth shut.

"Hmph. If you're so eager to prove yourself, then, how about this? At Shuriken Island, we will see just how good of a thief you are." Nami said, a smirk painted on her face. Penny returned the smirk, hers' just as cold, and sparks flew between the girls as they shook hands.

"Deal."

"Do you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into?" Zoro asked a few hours later as the two spared, Zoro with two swords drawn and Penny with her two daggers.

"It's not me that should be worrying; it's Nami. I know she's a good thief, but so am I!" She said stubbornly, and Zoro shook his head.

"If you say so."

The girl smirked at him as she ducked, dodging a would-be lethal blow had he not been using the dull side of his swords.

"Besides, this is different. We're going to an island that's guarded by ninjas. This is going to take a lot of skill, stealth, and possibly combat experience to get to the big loot. She's a good thief, yes, but she's not good at combat." The rouge explained, and Zoro smirked.

"True. The bitch can be sneaky, though." He warned, and she smirked as she jumped backwards and threw about ten knives in succession at him, which was suppose to be against the rules. Zoro cursed as he deflected them and dodged.

"So am I."

"So this is Shuriken Island, huh?" Sanji asked as he looked around one of the small villages they had docked near. Zoro had stayed behind on the ship to guard.

"Sugoi!! Where are the ninjas?!" Luffy asked loudly, and the crowd around them gasped silently and began muttering quietly. Usopp looked around, confused.

"What's the big idea?" the sniper asked, and Vivi shook her head.

"I explained before that the ninjas here are tyrants that control this island unfairly and tax the people ruthlessly. Mentioning them like that is probably some sort of taboo." The princess said as Luffy frowned.

"Aww, that's the only reason why I came. I want to fight a real ninja!" He said, once again loudly, and Namis' fist met his face.

"SHUT UP, IDIOT! You're drawing too much attention to us!!" She yelled, and then smirked at Penny. "So, Penny-chan, are you ready to start?"

Penny blinked innocently at her rival thief.

"Oh? I thought we already started." the rouge said as she reached into a pouch behind her back and pulled out three large, fat looking wallets. Nami smirked.

"We did." She reached between her chest and pulled out a fist full of cash, much larger then Penny's. Penny grinned at the competition.

The boys and Vivi watched, a sense of impending doom coming from the two thieves.

Penny hummed to herself as she walked along the edge of a roof, one hand holding a large, heavy looking bag over one shoulder, the other on her hip.

'_I hit the jackpot at that last house! How the heck did those people get a hold of genuine gold music box like that? That's going in my personal collection!' _She thought happily to herself before she leaped across to another roof top. The rouge obviously was in the more wealthy part of town.

She looked down, and raised an eyebrow when she spotted Nami slinking out of a window, a grin on her face. Penny was planning on getting that house, too.

'_Guess Nami already got this end of town. Damn! Her bags the same size as mine!' _

"Hey, Nami, not being to secretive, are you? The ninjas are going to catch you if you don't be a bit more stealthy!" She called down, causing the navigator to jump a bit in surprise. She glared up, fire in her eyes.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, damn it!" Nami yelled, and Penny let out a light snicker, before her eyes narrowed. She felt herself being watched.

Suddenly a kunai knife flew towards her at an almost unseen speed. The rouge had a knife out and deflected it just as quickly, along with the two other kunai knives that followed. Penny jumped back and crouched down a bit to get a better holding.

"Penny-chan? What's going on?!" Nami yelled, and Penny cursed lightly to herself as she leapt down beside the rich establishment and handed her bag to Nami.

"My knots tied three times, yours' is tied twice. That's how we will know the difference. No cheating! Take them both and get back to the ship or one of the others, got it? I'll make sure your covered!" She barked. Namis' eyes widened but she nodded as she took the other bag, and grunted at the heaviness, though her eyes lit up, then took off.

"Come out!" Penny called. She sighed when no one came out and looked around, then picked up two of the discarded kunai.

"Fine. If you don't want to come out, then I'll make you!" With that, she threw one in front of her, and one to her right. They hit nothing but shaded house tops, but two shadowed figures darted out. Before her two men stood, both crouched a bit, kunai drawn.

"To be able to sense and discover our presence. Tell me: Are you a ninja from another island? And your skill with the kunai as well… it is remarkable." One praised coldly. Penny only grinned as she pulled out a throwing knife that had a loop on the handle, one of her personal favorites, and twirled it.

" 'Fraid not. I'm a former thief from East Blue, and now I'm a Musician for a pirate crew. That's all there is to me. Though, I'm just as fast as a ninja, and have better aim." She said as she stopped twirling the knife and pointed it at the two.

"Pirate, huh? That's what we thought. So you were stealing those goods!" The other ninja said, and Penny rolled her eyes.

"Erm, obviously. Aren't ninjas supposed to be observant?" She asked. By his voice, he sounded young, around thirteen maybe.

"Stay back. She's a seasoned fighter, not something that you want to get mixed in with." the "leader" of the two said, and the boy scoffed.

"I could take her any day. No one can defy the Ninja Guard of Shuriken Island and get away with it!" He said, before he charged with his kunai ready. Penny frowned as she went on the defense, easily using her one throwing knife to deflect his kunai.

"He's right, kiddo. I'm a bit of a match for you."

"SHUT UP, OLD HAG!! I'LL KILL YOU FOR- oof!!" before he could finish his sentence, she brought her booted foot up straight into his stomach and sent him flying back. He went through a window and landed on something that sounded expensive. He didn't even groan; he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

"Poor kid, hated to do that. Now that chibi-kun's out of the way…well shit." She said as she looked around, and realized that there was about twenty ninja around her, all with a variety of weapons drawn.

"Penny-chaaaaaaan!!" She looked up, and grinned when she saw her reinforcements on the way, Sanji leading the charge. One of the ninja looked up, and scoffed. "A bunch of kids? This will be easy - ARG!"

"How dare you attack a girl with such an outrageous number!?" Sanji yelled as he began his attack. Penny grinned. Luffy launched his own attack, and Zoro drew his swords. She turned to the one she had first talked to, and smirked.

"Like I was saying, now that chibi-kun's out of the way, along with the rest of your little guard, shall we?"

He growled and threw a kunai at her, only for it to be deflected.

"You will never beat me in long range!" she said smugly, then her eyes widened when he seemed to vanish and reappear next to her, a sword a bit shorter then Zoros' drawn.

"Thanks for the tip!" The nameless ninja snarled coldly, and she grunted as she used one of her knives to dodge last minute. Penny was pushed back a few yards, and as she was, the rouge reached down and drew out her daggers.

"That's the last tip you'll be getting from me." she grumbled as the ninja rushed at her. She met him head on, matching him blow for blow. To those watching, they were a blur of color.

Then, to Pennys' shock, her opponent seemed to vanish, only to reappear from underground and behind her. She jumped out of the way, avoiding a fatal blow, but still received a large gash on her back. She grunted in pain.

"Penny-chan!!" she heard Sanji and Luffy call out in worry, though they had their own opponents to deal with.

"I'm fine! Nothing vital was hit!" She called back, then turned back and crossed her daggers in front of her.

"Cool trick. Think you could teach me?" she asked with a teasing grin, and received a growl. He rushed at her again, vanishing. She tensed, and this time felt him coming from her right. Instead of dodging left, right, or behind, she dropped to the ground, and he completely missed his intended target.

"GOTCHA!" With that, she tackled him around the waist, and he grunted, and then screamed in pain when one of her daggers pierced his stomach. He stumbled backwards, and as he did, Penny took out a knife. It hit him right between the eyes.

"Oi, good job." Zoro said as the rouge turned, and saw that the others had finished. She grinned, swaying a bit. Sanji was at her side immediately, and swept her off her feet. Her eyes went wide with shock.

"S-Sanji-kun! What do you think you're doing?" She demanded. Sure, he was a flirt, but she had never seen him so forward-

"Penny-chan, you're losing blood fast. We have to get you back to the ship and that wound wrapped now." he said, and as they turned, realized they were surrounded by a crowd.

"Shit." The cook cursed, and she tensed in his arms.

Then the crowd began to cheer.

"Where were you guys before all this happened?" Penny asked after she had been treated by a local doctor. Apparently, they had defeated the entire guard, and now the villages were free from the ninjas' reign.

"There were Baroque Works officers all over the place. I'm surprised you didn't run into any!" Usopp said, and she grinned.

"I was too busy getting enough loot to beat Nami down to size. Speaking of loot, Sanji-kun, have you finished counting that money yet?" she asked, and the blonde beamed.

"Haaaaai! In the bag with three knots, there was about four million belli worth, and in the bag with two, there was about four million three thousand!" He said cheerfully, and the rouges' face fell. Nami grinned widely.

"Good thing I robbed a few extra houses while you were fighting those ninjas, Penny-chan, or else you would have almost beaten me. Almost, but not quiet. I still had over four million. But we did great! 8 million belli out of this poor town!"

Penny sighed. "Alright, Nami, you're the better thief. Better, but that doesn't mean I'm not a good thief! Got it?"

Nami grinned.

"Got it. Stick around me, and you will become an even better one, one day!" she said, and the girls looked at each other and laughed. Vivi shook her head.

"Nah, Penny, you haven't sung for us in a long time! Sing a song about ninjas!" Luffy said, and the girl frowned.

"I don't know any songs about ninjas…"

He blinked. "Hm…me neither… Then sing a song about pirates!" He said, and she looked at her captain and crew, and then laughed as she opened her mouth and begin to sing.


	8. Chapter 8

_Alright, Nami, you're the better thief. Better, but that doesn't mean that I'm not a good thief! Got it?"_

_Nami grinned._

"_Got it. Stick around me, and you'll become an even better one, one day!" she said, and the girls looked at each other and laughed. Vivi shook her head. _

"_Nah, Penny, you haven't sung for us in a long time! Sing a song about ninjas!" Luffy said, and the girl frowned._

"_I don't know any songs about ninjas…"_

_He blinked. _

"_Hm… Me neither… Then sing a song about pirates!" he said, and she looked at her captain and crew, then laughed as she opened her mouth and begin to sing. _

* * *

Penny sighed as she sat on the deck, her back against the rail, the wind blowing in her hair…

Then groaned as it stopped.

Again.

"The wind has stopped again" Nami said, and there was obvious confusion in her tone. What was up with the winds?

"And when were in such a hurry to get to the next island, too… Well have to take another break."

Penny bit back another groan at the navigators' words. ANOTHER break?

"And we sit here idle… time is…" Vivi started, but was interrupted by Penny, who was near enough to hear the two girls.

"Don't worry. We know you have to get to Arabasta as soon as possible"

Nami nodded. "That's right. And now that we have money in stock, we will be able to move faster. So no worries, ok?"

The blue haired girl smiled.

"Yosh! Let's go fishing! Fishing!!" Luffy suddenly declared happily.

"Oi, anyone know what happened to the bait?" Sanji asked, and Penny narrowed her eyes. Surely their idiot captain wouldn't have eaten the bait…

"Bait? Oh, that stuff in the bucket I ate." Said idiot captain stated as he looked in the bucket, a hand on his chin.

"You ate it?! Those were mealworms!!" Sanji said in disgust, and Penny didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You don't say? They're pretty good." Luffy said as he picked up the last worm and put it in his mouth. A shudder ran down Pennys' spine. Ewww.

"You're not supposed to EAT them!!" Usopp yelled, eyes nearly popping out of his head, while a vein throbbed on Sanjis' head.

"What do we do now that you've eaten the bait?!" the cook demanded angrily. "We can't fish anymore!!"

"We'll use this."

From her view point, Penny couldn't see what he held up, but whatever it was, it got a response out of the blonde haired cook.

"WE CANT FISH WITH THAT!!" Sanji yelled, and Penny snickered a bit, along with Vivi.

"There a real riot, aren't they?" Vivi giggled slightly.

"Oh? No good, huh?" Luffy said, more to himself then to Sanji. "Then how about him?"

Luffy suddenly pointed to Carue, and Sanji blinked.

"Yea, that might work."

"QUAAAACK!!"

The bird took off with the two pirates chasing after him.

"WAIT!"

"Come back here!!"

The duck then made the fatal mistake of accidentally running over Zoro, one big webbed foot stepping right in the middle of his face.

"DORKS!! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!!" The first mate screamed as he sat up, a vein showing on his brow.

Penny laughed heartily, and then stopped abruptly when she heard Nami sigh.

"Would you guys… CALM DOWN FOR ONE SECOND?!" The orange haired girl screamed, and everything on the ship seemed to freeze.

"Why are you so worked up?" Penny heard Luffy ask, but hoped for his sake Nami didn't.

"Ahhh. Nami-san is even wonderful when she's angry!" Was Sanjis' reply. Penny felt a sweat drop. Oh, the poor love sick cook…

"It's so strange. Him being worth a 30,000,000 belli bounty, you'd expect him to be a bit more terrifying."

Penny let out a laugh at the blue haired princess' words.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't imagine it. But just look at the strong guys that he has beaten. The iron fist dominator of the East Blue, Merman Arlong. Admiral of an entire pirate fleet, Don Krieg. And although no one will ever know about it, even the infamous trickster, Pirate Captain Kuro." Nami said, pride in her voice.

"That's not all." Zoro said, and the girls looked at him. "There was this Marine bastard brandishing a huge axe for a hand."

"Ah. Axe hand Morgan." Nami said in realization.

"Axe Hand Morgan? I've heard of him. He was a Marine Captain feared throughout all of East Blue for his cruel supremacy." Vivi said surprised.

"You defeated someone as strong as him?" She asked Luffy, who was struggling with Sanji to get Carue tied up.

"Ah. The Axe Hand Ossan. Oh yea, I wonder what happened to that guy I was with…" Luffy muttered, and Pennys' curiosity peeked a bit.

"That guy?" She asked, and he grinned at her.

"Ah. His names Coby. He's my friend!" Luffy said with a beaming grin, and Penny left it at that.

---

Penny yawned at the commotion that awoke her from her nap. Apparently, Luffy had broken one of the water drawing machines with his abnormal strength while getting Nami some water, and so Usopp was stuck using the back one.

Zoros' bad sleeping habits seemed to be rubbing off on her.

Penny stretched and sighed as she followed the others into the cabin, and plopped down on the ground and leaned back against the wall. Her back still wasn't completely healed, and she couldn't do anything strenuous for a bit. The girl really hoped there wasn't anything dangerous at the next island they were headed too. It was called Little Garden, from what they had picked up from Shuriken Island.

"But why does the morning newspaper always come during the afternoon break?" The navigator whined as she flipped through the papers. Penny suppressed another yawn.

"It can't be helped. This is the Grand Line, after all." Vivi explained. "We should be grateful to get any information at all."

"You're right about that." Nami agreed, and then turned the page. Through her groggy, but still sharp eyes, Penny noticed Namis' expression change to horror and shock, before she flipped the page quickly. What exactly could she be hiding?

---

"I wonder if it will snow again?" Luffy pondered aloud as he sat on Merrys' head, excitement in his voice.

"How the hell can it snow? That's impossible." Zoro said, and Penny snorted. The three were sitting around, Zoro on deck, and Penny cross-legged on the rail.

"Sure it can! You were asleep, so you wouldn't know."

Their captain then turned to Vivi, who was listening amused from nearby.

"Nah, it'll snow again, wont it?"

"Well, it's not as if it will never snow again, but that first stretch of ocean is unique. The seven magnetic fields emanating from Reverse Mountain affect everything in the area." She explained, and then looked out over the ocean.

"Never the less, we must stay on our guard. It's quite rare to have such a violent trip as the first one. But this sea is much more difficult to navigate than any other in the world. The iron clad rule is to never take this sea lightly."

"Oi, you louts! How about a round of my special drink?!" Sanji called as he stepped out of the kitchen. Zoro and Luffy were gone in a whirl, and Penny chuckled.

"Don't worry. When the situation comes to it, they will be ready." The rouge said as she too went down to get a drink, wincing a bit at her wound. If she didn't know any better, she would think that it was a bit infected. Oh, well.

"Oi! Look, everyone! A dolphin!" Sanji called after spotting the said creature.

"It's cute!" Nami, who had stepped outside unnoticed by Penny, said, and they all watched the creature as it begin to jump.

Then it jumped over their ship, and they realized it was anything but little.

"IT'S HUGE!" The crew exclaimed, Vivi included.

"RUN AWAY!" Luffy yelled, a large grin on his face as he said so.

Everyone went into action immediately. Vivi watched, amazed, as everything was taken care of.

"These guys…." she said softly, realizing that Penny had been right.

"Full sail!" Luffy yelled as everything calmed down. The dolphin jumped again.

"YOSH! We'll catch the wave and ride it outta here!!"

And that's exactly what they did.

---

"Nami! What's our course?" Luffy called once the waves settled, and the navigator looked at her wrist.

"Just a minute!" she studied it, and then grinned.

"Turn us hard to port!" she ordered.

"AYE AYE!"

Penny sat back and watched. With her wound, Nami had forbidden her from helping out.

There, in the distance, she got her first glance of Little Garden. It was shrouded in fog, but Penny could tell that it was uninhabited. Or at least, it looked uninhabited.

"No doubt about it. Our next destination is that island!" Nami said as she pointed to the island. Penny grinned, despite herself. She was getting excited. What would they find, what sort of adventure would they have?

"So that's it! The third island of the grand line!" Luffy said, just as excited, if not more, then Penny herself.

---

"So this is Little Garden!" Luffy said, cheerful as ever, as they sailed alongside the bank of the island, ready to make dock somewhere.

"What the hell do they mean by 'Little'?"

Zoro voiced what Penny was thinking as she looked at the huge trees in disguised awe.

"It doesn't look nearly as cute as its name…" Nami said, and Penny resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Even if it was, Nami would find some way of taking the cuteness from it.

"T-This is like untamed territory, unexplored jungle!" Usopp said, sounding a bit scared. A "bit" putting it lightly. He was sweating bullets.

"We have to be careful…unexplored Islands of the Grand line can hold impossible possibilities." Vivi said, and Usopp gasped.

"D-D-Does that mean there's gonna be m-m-monsters?!"

"Who knows?" Luffy answered for the princess.

"Lets just go to the next island without stopping here!" Usopp said, near hysterics. Penny snickered.

"But we need to set the log." Nami answered, not sounding the least bit worried.

"That, and it's about time we picked up some provisions." Sanji said, and took a drag off his cigarette. "We ran out of food from the last town."

"I see a river mouth up ahead!" Zoro said suddenly.

"Really?!" The group, including Penny, ran to the side of the ship and looked over. Soon they were sailing up the river, looking for a landing spot.

"You know, landing is going to be dangerous. I mean, just look at those plants! That's not in any kind of botany book I've ever read or seen before!" Nami said, then threw her hands over her ears when an animalistic screeching sound tore through the jungle.

"GAH!!" She screamed, and Penny jumped, hands on her knives.

"Cute…"

Usopp turned from where he had been standing near the two girls, eyes large.

"You mean me?"

"I MEAN NAMI-SAN AND PENNY-CHAN, SHIT HEAD!!" Sanji exclaimed.

"What WAS that?" Penny and Nami asked at the same time, and then they both paled when a huge bird flew down at Sanji.

"Don't worry. It's just a little old bird. And this is just your normal jungle. Nothing to worry about."

Penny took out a knife, then turned and ran, along with Nami and Usopp.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Sanji turned around, and barely ducked away from the birds claws.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU SHITY BIRD?!"

"A lizard…? I wonder how it tastes." Luffy asked as he stepped towards his cook.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the entire jungle, shaking everything. Dust was sent up on she shore and waves rocked Merry.

"Is that the kind of sound you hear in a NORMAL jungle?" Penny asked, a bit of a tremble in her voice from fright.

"That sounded like a volcano erupting!" Usopp said as he held his head in fear.

A roar from the side caught all of their attentions, and they went to the other side of the deck.

"A tiger?!" Nami said in disbelief.

"It's huge!!" Usopp yelled, from the safety of the other side of the deck.

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the tiger gave one last roar, and fell over dead. Penny narrowed her eyes as she studied it.

"What? What happened to it?! This is not normal. This is definitely NOT normal!" Nami said, once again near hysterics. "How can a tiger, the king of the jungle, collapse in its own blood?!"

"Well then, it's decided, we are not stopping at this island!" Usopp said, his own voice close to Namis' hysterical one.

"We'll just sit on the ship and quietly wait for the log to set…." Nami said, and Penny inwardly sighed. She knew with her wound she wouldn't be much help, but she still wanted to get off the ship and explore the island! Though she was scared....... Maybe if she was with some of Luffy or Zoro...or even Sanji......

"Then we get out of here as fast as possible. We do have to hurry to Arabasta, right?" Nami was speaking much softer now, and the auburn haired girl worried for the navigator for a second.

---

"Sanji, bento!" Luffy declared as soon as the anchor was thrown overboard.

"Bento?" The cook asked, confused.

"Yea, to recharge my power! A ton of MEAT and NO vegetables! A PIRATE bento! I smell an adventure!" Luffys' grin couldn't get any bigger, even if he stretched his face.

"Now hold on a minute, where do you think you're going?" Nami demanded as she stepped in front of the straw hat wearing captain, hands on her hips.

She found herself nearly blinded from the sparkling of his face that clearly showed his excitement.

"On an adventure!" he said happily. "Wanna come? Adventure! Adventure!"

Penny thought for a second that Nami would hit their captain; she even thought she saw her lift her fist, but it never came.

"You're kidding, right? That monster that killed that huge tiger is still out there!" Usopp said, mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Sanji! Bento!!" was Luffys' reply, but the cook was already on his way to the kitchen.

"I heard you. Gimme a minute." he said, and Penny grinned, seeing her chance.

"Sanji-kun! If there's anything left over, will you make me a small one too? I wanna go with Luffy!" she called, and grinned hearing his more than enthusiastic reply.

"Hey, is it ok if I go with you two?" Vivi suddenly asked, and Penny blinked at her, before smiling.

"Sure! Adventure! Adventure!" Luffy said, and then continued his chant, dragging Penny into it and making her sing.

---

"OK! One Pirate Bento for three and one special drink just for Carue! You're all set!" Sanji announced after he tied the large backpack to Luffys' back. Penny would walk, while Vivi would ride Carue.

"Yup!" Luffy said and jumped on the railing. Penny followed, ignoring the discomfort in her wound, and the two jumped off, followed by Carue.

"Ok! Were off!" Vivi turned and waved to the others,

"Alright! Lets go!" Luffy yelled as he took off at a run. Penny laughed as his enthusiasm as she too ran, still ignoring the discomfort in her back.

"We'll be back soon!" Vivi called, and the three vanished from sight of the ship into the darkness of Little Garden.


End file.
